What about the superfluous half? (Israeli elections)

Abstract

In the US, fifty percent of the citizens do not take part in the elections -an outcome of a long tradition of two candidates, identical in deeds though different in style. Both represent the same "market forces" but the Democrats have more respect to the liberal values of the west: the legal system, education, the right of abortion. For those fifty percent who still make a living, these issues are important enough to bring them to the elections. The other fifty percent are occupied with survival. When we see on tv the joyous pictures of the blooming American economy, they don't show us the crumbling neighborhoods, the homeless, those who work 12 hours a day with humiliating wages, or the children whose support Clinton has cut. The poor half has no voice and no candidate, and it has been filtered out from the political system. What's left is democracy of the rich. This is precisely what is prepared for us in Israel: There is one ruling party of generals, business people and their helpers, but with two arms: Likud (Netanyahu) and Labor (Barak). Although there is constant flow and exchange of members between the arms, they fight loudly on the issues which concern the ruling party, e.g. whether to transfer part of the oppression of the Palestinians to the CIA and the Palestinian security services, as specified in the Wai agreement, or to keep it fully at the hands of the Israeli army and the settlers.